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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29298024">photographs</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakeupmoonchild/pseuds/wakeupmoonchild'>wakeupmoonchild</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Insecurity, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mild Vomiting, Misunderstandings, Mpreg, Stereotypes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:01:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,815</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29298024</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakeupmoonchild/pseuds/wakeupmoonchild</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been a wonderful five years. Jaehyun hopes there’s more for them in store.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>171</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>JohnJae Fan Week 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>photographs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! I’ve once again dipped my fingers into another fest! This time, it’s ran by a few wonderful friends - C &amp; K! (allow me to insert a Calvin Klein pun here lmao)</p><p>This story is dedicated to a lot of people and if you’ll let me, I’d love to enumerate as much of them as my goldfish memory allows.</p><p>To Mei, I know iris has taken a backseat, but I hope this story is a lovely surprise that makes up for it. Thank you for making time even when we’re both busy, I miss you very very much and I hope this story gives you those indescribable feelings. The good kind, I mean!</p><p>To Leah, I’ve finally done it! My first A/B/O. I hope it’s a good first foray into the trope. Thank you for being the fuel to my brain. Thank you for always cheering me on and for making me feel like I could do anything. I hope this makes you proud! </p><p>To Dee, for being so patient, so supportive. For being a bright cheerleader that rivals the sun! </p><p>To Chanel, thank you for creating this fest because quite frankly, I don’t think the idea to this story would exist without it. Thank you for being the mother to this nation we so love.</p><p>To Lamee, who’s always been very vocal about emotions. Along the way, it has helped me become much more comfortable in expressing my own.</p><p>To everyone in the bros before hoes gc, thank you for creating a space where we all feel safe and we can all have fun.</p><p>To everyone in the johnjae nation, may this make you feel the appreciation I have for each and every one of you!</p><p>To Johnny and Jaehyun -- for becoming an inspiration in all aspects of my life.</p><p>Last, but not the least, to @starhoneyy ! Who has given it her all to make sure the message in this story gets to you. That is…</p><p>To take your time, and to never feel like you have to do things alone.</p><p>Sending my love from across the world!</p><p>Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The characters are not mine and are not intended to be used with malicious intent. On the other hand, the story itself is the work of the author. Please don’t copy and redistribute without permission.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The scent of peaches fills the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It rides with the soft, almost intangible wind blowing against Jaehyun’s way as he walks past the elevator and down the hallway of their apartment floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s sweet; tingling the tip of his nose as it enters through his body, causing the rest of his senses to be set alight. It’s been a while since Jaehyun has felt this way -- felt awake, alive and in the present moment. The sweetness clings to every part of him, wrapping his veins to smoothen its flow and spreading across his muscles to relieve the tension. It’s indulgent, Jaehyun doesn’t even think he deserves this feeling, yet he still welcomes it. He willingly lets his own scent fill him up because at this moment, he doesn’t care what people think.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which is rare, considering that’s all he’s ever done the past few weeks. Jaehyun remembers when it all began — at his parents home over the long weekend. It had been a long time since he had seen his mother and was ecstatic to hear her stories, even if it only consisted of days where she would care for her plants and discover new internet personalities.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But on his last day, the mundane act of washing dishes becomes a life-or-death conversation about mating. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jaehyun, darling. I know you’re an omega,” she begins, and he has to hold back a sigh that threatens to break from his lips. “I also know that you’re the type to choose your person wisely but… isn’t it time to settle down?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have settled down, mom.” Jaehyun’s surprised to have said that as calmly as he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Settled with being single and living with your roommate, Johnny?” His mother takes a newly rinsed dish from his hands and proceeds to fit it on the rack. “You’re still not hoping for him to notice you, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They feel it first before they smell it, the sharp scent of his sweetness mixed with alcohol — the scent of his spiking anger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom, I’ve told you so many times.” Jaehyun uses what little left of his sanity to not look at his mother’s eyes lest he says something he’ll regret. “We are together. How could you not acknowledge that?” The anger settles on the tips of his fingers, pressing hard onto the delicate plate yet he still hopes it won’t break. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My son, if you are together, then why won’t you let me meet him?” His mother’s tone softens, shoulders sagging slightly. “It also doesn’t help that your friends keep on saying that you’re just roommates, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The scent of sweet peaches fades into a mere undertone and the smell of alcohol resembles that of vodka when its strength takes over. Jaehyun doesn’t even know what to be angry at anymore — his mother for believing his friends more than him or the fact that the joking has gone on far too long that his mother now believes it to be true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s exactly why, mom. It began as a joke a long time ago. But it went on even when Johnny and I had gotten together, so I just decided that they weren’t ready to accept the truth yet.” He places the plate down and parted from the sink, having enough sense to spare it from breaking into pieces. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you kept him away from everybody?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t.” Jaehyun takes a deep breath, searching for that sweetness he knows can calm him down. A dash of it enters his nostrils, and it’s enough to calm him down. “I’m not even hiding him in the first place. It’s just that all of you like to deny that </span>
  <em>
    <span>we </span>
  </em>
  <span>exist.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honey, it’s not that we’re denying it…” His mother walks closer to place a hand on his shoulder, the warmth from her palm is a comforting contrast to her words that continue to rile him up. “You two are from vastly different worlds. It’s not to say that you’re lesser than him because of that, no. I would chew Johnny out if he saw it that way. I guess the whole point of it all is that we don’t see you act as a couple… that’s why we all have a hard time seeing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, mom. Act as a couple?” Something snaps from within. Suddenly, facing his mom with the frustration he carries no longer scares him. “What do you mean? Like holding hands? Kissing in public? Posting photos on social media? Wearing each other’s clothes just to rub Johnny’s scent on other people’s faces? Fucking each other so that we reek of each other? Is that it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeong Jaehyun. That’s not what I meant.” Jaehyun smells his mother’s frustration too;  the scent of crackling fire with too much gas poured over. “If you say that you are together with Johnny, </span>
  <em>
    <span>settled, </span>
  </em>
  <span>might I add, then where is the mark?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is quick, the way those words pull Jaehyun away from anger and into the depths of uncertainty. The world may be diverse — rich in blended traditions that adapted to the changing times, but one thing remains true for wolves like them, that a mark is an indisputable symbol of connection. Jaehyun has wanted it for so long, waited for it for so long. The five years he’s spent with Johnny never even put a dent in his patience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, here he is doubting if it will ever happen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun leaves the conversation at that, choosing to utter an apology before leaving quietly, and the mixed scents of their heated debate clinging to his clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The drive back to his and Johnny’s shared apartment is painfully quiet. Jaehyun doesn’t have the desire to put on music to soothe himself and instead chooses to let his thoughts flare in different directions, each one begging for his full attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the day he first met Johnny, it was during freshman orientation when he stumbled in late and out of breath, the scent of freshly brewed coffee filtering through Jaehyun’s nostrils even when the hall had been equipped with blockers in all its walls. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny had taken the seat beside him, all smiles and confidence when he bid him a cheery hello. Jaehyun had known it then — that Johnny would be his mate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But his heart had been scorned so many times before. He no longer wanted to risk offering it again without knowing the person to their core. Hence, Jaehyun took every day as a chance to learn one new thing about Johnny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until, eventually, Jaehyun had pieced together all of him. Johnny was an alpha through and through — in his strengths and in his instincts. But it was his dismissal for stereotypes that made up his essence. It didn’t matter whether society deemed it for alphas, betas, or omegas, if he wanted to do something as a means to express himself, he’d do it regardless. Even something simple as wearing nail polish riled all the other alphas up except for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It went beyond his physicality -- Johnny’s personality. The art he wore on his body was nothing compared to the art he showed other people. It was in the way he treats others that had them so enamored. Never once did Johnny have to exert his dominance just to win an argument, nor use his pheromones to bring someone home for the night. All that did, he infused with respect, and it was rich and potent, so Jaehyun wasn’t surprised that everybody wanted a taste. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe that’s why Jaehyun’s grown intimidated by him. Johnny was perfect while Jaehyun thinks of himself as a little less than that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course he took pride in a lot of things. Jaehyun was a dutiful son that put his family first, and whatever they dreamed for him, he worked hard to achieve. He never related with the other omegas who bemoaned their parents’ unending desires because he wanted these dreams too. Hence why it was a privilege to be who he was now — an omega whose life is already laid out for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe that’s why, just like the cliches he reads in the novels, true people were hard to come by. Seeking genuine friends was easier. Jaehyun knew one who was out to take advantage of him from one who was there to be with him through the triumphs and tribulations.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long until he had a small circle he could always rely on — Doyoung and Taeyong, whose story rivalled that of Romeo &amp; Juliet with their burning love and ambition, and Sicheng, whose friendship he never saw coming but treasures the most out of them all. Through the ups and downs of their own lives, Jaehyun was convinced that they were brothers simply separated by fate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As fate made a part of his life easy, it made another difficult. If he was safe in his circle of friends, he wasn’t when it came to the matters of the heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun just couldn’t quite understand it -- how he would always succumb to the same tricks alphas did to him to capture his heart, only to crush it when he was too far gone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all had the same pattern; they lured him with the image of stability and humility, sweet promises and visions of a wonderful future, and when they had the chance to take him to bed, inhale his pheromones, taste his slick and take his willing body, the day after was like they hadn’t known him at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The worst of them all was Juyeon. Jaehyun saw the pattern crisp as the scent of pine trees in the spring, but he thought it would be different when Juyeon promised he could change. It was the first time he’d heard of it, and it made Jaehyun put down his walls and go with the flow. True enough, the flow had led him to the most devastating heartbreak of them all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he had picked up the pieces, Jaehyun promised that if he should ever love again, he would put whoever it was to the test. He would hold back and not give away anything until he knew for certain that he would be treated with the love and respect that he deserved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But his mind had been fooled so much that he’d become uncertain. Every single step Johnny had made for them to get closer had him thinking it was all part of a ploy to get him into his bed. Every hello, every helping hand, every defense against someone who had talked bad about him was a way to break down his walls and leave him bare and wanting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, no matter how much he wanted to protect his heart, Jaehyun couldn’t help but fall for Johnny. Resistance was futile in the face of love, and his wolf never stopped howling for Johnny each time they were together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought of it scared Jaehyun to the bone. So much so that he had run away and sought refuge under the plush material of Sicheng’s couch, tucking himself under piles of blankets as he sobbed many nights away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The truth of it was that Jaehyun had wanted to love him, and if his wolf claimed him as his mate, then it could be said as truth that Johnny’s wolf had claimed him too. But did Johnny want him? If he took away everything that made them who they are, would Johnny still choose him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was pathetic, this Jaehyun knew. Even Sicheng had known it when he had pulled him from right under the covers and into the harsh lighting of his living room. He remembers the words his friend had said, delivered like a well-deserved wake-up call.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You are so selfish. Making decisions for someone else when he is fully capable of making his own. If he loves you back, then great! If he doesn’t, then that doesn’t make you any less of a person than anybody else. Love is tricky because we make it so.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Sicheng was right. But that didn’t consider their wolves who are firm in their choices. Should the worst ever happen, they would never allow him to live on in peace. It doesn’t matter if love is second priority, he was still a sucker for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The conflict of emotions had put Jaehyun in knots, unable to think nor focus until something drifted into the air and wrapped around him to take it all away. It was the scent of coffee on a chilly morning -- soft, strong, and pure. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Johnny.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Sicheng had opened the door for him. Johnny stood there in his clothes reminiscent of the 90s, with hands that held a multitude of colors, and with his eyes that held the world. And he confronted Jaehyun with a confession he’d never forget.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I didn’t realize that we were mates the first time we met. Maybe because I am just myself -- always running against the crowd. I was okay with that. I was content with who I am and in what I could do, so that when you came along, I thought you were just another friend I could rely on like Yuta and Mark. But you were so much more than that. You were my confidant and my partner-in-crime.” </span>
  </em>
  
  <em>
    <span>Johnny choked on his own words, and one look into his eyes told Jaehyun that he was holding back tears from falling down.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Remember that one time we painted that asshole’s eyelids while he was asleep in class? He was being bad to you, and I wanted to teach him a lesson. In fact, I wanted to teach every wolf who had done you wrong a lesson they could never forget. That’s when I realized that you had meant more to me than what I forced myself to think. I wanted to protect you. But because I’m different, I didn’t know how. So I kept you as a friend because maybe even just this was already enough. Now, I see that it isn’t. Not for you. Not even for me. If you’ll let me...please let me love you the way I know how.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny’s words had reached out past the small cracks in his walls to extend a hand, as if to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>“please take it”. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jaehyun had hesitated, the tiniest part of him still convinced that this was all part of a master plan to fool him. Yet, his wolf appealed to him, brought forth all of the emotions and thoughts he has for the alpha and made him realize that Johnny, amongst all other people, was worth it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, Jaehyun took Johnny’s hand and wrapped it around his -- tight and warm, never planning on letting go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the five years that followed, their relationship had come together like a flower -- beginning at the roots, slowly crawling up to the surface until it bore a stem that survived each and every trial life had sent its way, and bloomed with its own vibrant color. It had a scent that was unique to them -- different but true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The smile that broke out from his lips pulled Jaehyun back to the present. Gone was the tight grip around the steering wheel, and his back let loose and sunk itself against the seat. Thinking about how far they’ve come always brought him relief because it was proof that their love had stood the test of time. Other people may not understand it, but between them, it was something that felt just right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something deep within him begs to differ as his gut turns in on itself. The sour scent that bursts from Jaehyun’s throat is surely not one from his pheromones, for Jaehyun scrambles to open the door, lean over the side of the road and let the contents of his stomach out, taking his happiness with him and replacing it with the vile feeling of a headache piercing through his skull. It throbs loud enough to be felt, and Jaehyun has to hold his head in fear that it might fall off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One look at the mess he made, and Jaehyun feels his energy drain away. It looks hideous, but it is a symbol of the life that had manifested in his body -- warm and gentle, smelling like the sun as it breaks through the horizon to bring light into the world. Jaehyun brings his focus there, guiding his hand to the base of his belly as if to say hello. For a moment, he swears that it had greeted in return, or maybe it was just its scent calming him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun continues to rub circles on the skin, feeling it grow taut as each day passes. A finger separates to move down the miniscule dip and stay there, feeling the difference his body is beginning to show. The motions root him back to the seat, letting the vile scent waft away for the sweet one of his own to return and enliven him once more. Jaehyun takes a deep breath, eyes staring into the open road ahead of him. It wasn’t supposed to happen early on, but given who they are, he wasn’t even surprised when the pup had come first before the mark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun has always wanted a family -- thought about how their pups would take after equal amounts of one another and how they would guide them to become their own persons when they came of age. It was exciting, heart already soaring at the thought of it, and he even already has names prepared. But at the back of his mind, Jaehyun knows that he wants to set things proper before starting to conceive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet each time he thinks about telling Johnny, he remembers what Johnny had said all those nights ago — sated by the champagne they drank in celebration of Doyoung and Taeyong’s mating mark and wrapped safely and warmly under the covers and in each other’s arms as the night was filled with snow. Jaehyun had spent the better part of the night gushing about how soon enough, there would be pups visiting their humble apartment and wreaking havoc in the kitchen, just like how their friends always did when they stopped by.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What if we give them playmates? I’d hate to see them alone once they both come out of parental leave.” Jaehyun was careful to not let his voice show any sign of desperation, looking to Johnny for his reaction.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We don’t have to rush. Just because other people already have marks and pups soon enough, doesn’t mean that we should have them too. We never have to succumb to the pressure of what society says, most especially you.” Johnny used a finger to tuck a stray hair behind Jaehyun’s ear. “You still have so much to achieve right? Take your time. We’ll get there one day.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If Jaehyun was still at the cusp of adolescence, he would’ve been elated because it meant that he could still focus on his dreams without the pressures of his omega nature knocking on his door. But times change, and quite quickly too, and now his future involves the sound of tinkling laughter and the pitter-patter of small feet against the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was sweet, the assurance he so easily gave, but it had felt misplaced, and the space it had left behind became the ground to which Jaehyun thought that Johnny may not want a family after all. Since then, he can never find the courage to bring it up again, fearful that he might hear those words again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After all these years, Jaehyun still dreads the certainty of his future with Johnny. They are still different, still going against the common tide. But in the vast ocean that is life, it found a way to call onto a little part of Jaehyun and make him want something most other people do. This and the thought of being rejected pummels through his veins, leaving him frozen in his seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The road ahead is overcast, but Jaehyun can smell a whiff of the sun, winding around his being and creating a garden full of ripe peaches dazzling against the sun. It is his pup talking to him, taking away all the bad and leaving him with the good. Jaehyun gasps, preventing tears from forming in his eyes. It hasn’t even been born, yet its consciousness is already seeking him out, making sure that he is calm. He looks down at his belly with the softest smile, rubbing his palm against it as he says, “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That thought is enough to turn things around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun begins to wonder that maybe this turmoil is just a perfect storm of all his insecurities coming to life. That after years of keeping them at bay, it now takes advantage of his vulnerable state and pounds into him until he begins to doubt himself and the people around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe his mother is right -- they need to see a definitive sign that he and Johnny were a couple. Maybe his friends’ jokes were a sign of their unwavering affection. Maybe Johnny is actually ready to have a family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he reaches for the doorknob of their apartment, Jaehyun gains enough clarity to want to tell Johnny everything -- his fears, his dreams and his desire to want Johnny never miss a moment of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he can push open the door, the scent of primer barges through his senses, throwing Jaehyun off for a moment before recognizing the scent of their next-door neighbor -- a divorced man whose bitterness has nowhere else to go but to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not even happy hour yet! Why’re you home early?” The man has his head craning from his door, looking at Jaehyun with a teasing look on his face. “You’re still young! You should mingle and find a sweet little omega of your own.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good evening to you too.” Jaehyun still tries to be polite even after the countless times his neighbor has been privy to his affairs. “I think I already told you that I have someone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Primer spikes through the air, bitter and metallic, and Jaehyun makes a conscious effort of releasing more of his scent to protect his pup from potentially being affected. It’s ironic how his neighbor’s excitement is a revolting experience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is this mate of yours then? Don’t see anyone with you right now.” He makes a show of looking both ways into the hallway before returning his gaze onto Jaehyun, raising his brows to emphasize his point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because he’s living with me.” The words come out cold, but Jaehyun can no longer find it in him to care. This futile conversation of theirs has been going on since he and Johnny had moved in together. Not a single day passed without him going out of his way to convince Jaehyun that he is an alpha looking for a mate when that couldn’t be more farther from the truth -- he is an omega with child, living with the love of his life in an almost wonderful apartment if it weren’t for his immovable perspective.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was forgivable the first few times. They had just moved in together, and the excitement of having a place they can call their own had led to sleepless nights being all over each other with Johnny’s scent enveloping his own until not a whiff of peaches could be found on any centimeter of his body. If he was his neighbor, he would’ve thought himself to be an alpha too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, after countless tries of telling the truth and seeing no change in return, Jaehyun has grown tired of playing along with the man’s delusions. It is simply better to ignore him as much as they could and address him curtly when they couldn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Most of the time, this is easy to do. In fact, it has become routine for them. But today is different -- Jaehyun’s sensitive state makes him want to yell at his neighbor’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun looks at him in the eye, taking in the smugness of his features before taking a deep breath to prepare himself to say the words. “I’m sorry if you have to live the rest of your life alone. It’s devastating to have your mate leave you, even if you were an asshole to her the entire time. But that doesn’t mean that you get to force your fuckboy life onto me and not acknowledge who I am. If you’ve forgotten again, I’m Jeong Jaehyun, and I’m happily in a relationship with my alpha who’s waiting inside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence befalls them, and an audible gasp pierces through the air. It’s laughable how his neighbor is the one who’s offended, but Jaehyun doesn’t spare him another thought nor a glance as he pushes inside the apartment and slams the door shut behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A mild throb beats against his skull, and Jaehyun has to rest his back against the door as he waits for the scent of primer to slip away into nothingness. Both he and his pup did not like how the conversation ended, but it was what Jaehyun had to do. It wasn’t the best way to confront their neighbor, but it was what felt right -- justified, even, when he thinks about all the times he had done this, and Jaehyun had been too polite to put his foot down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When all but the scent of a garden remains, Jaehyun stands to notice that their home is too quiet. It is dark, with no sound of the fridge opening or the television streaming the series they were currently watching. There is even no sound of Johnny, who usually bounded towards him the second he had arrived.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A glance at his watch makes Jaehyun assume that maybe his alpha had an exhausting day and decided to retire to their bedroom early. Tempted to follow in Johnny’s footsteps, Jaehyun continues into the apartment, quietly shedding his shoes before gently placing the keys into the small bowl perched atop a slim entryway and crossing the doorway into the raised floor of their living room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something catches his eye -- glinting under the light of the moon streaming in from their window. It is a piece of glossy paper lying on their center table. From the ways the colors meld into each other to create vague forms, it looks like a freshly developed photograph -- a hobby Johnny had been into for a few years now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honey!” Jaehyun can’t help but call out to Johnny, wary of his habit of developing photographs and leaving the materials scattered around. “You forgot to hang this up! The developer might stain--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His phone vibrates in his pocket, accompanied by the familiar ringtone of messages coming in one after the other. It’s their group chat coming alive, and Jaehyun knows there’ll be no end in sight if he doesn’t chime in, so he takes his phone out and opens it to a rapidly moving thread of texts that he has a hard time reading through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’re talking about heading to the beach next weekend since all of them had pulled through with the stressful work season they just had. The thought of the ocean and sand is enticing, but after all that Jaehyun had been through from this weekend and the incoming bulk of client work coming to him by the start of next week, he would much rather stay at home and do nothing with Johnny.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ah, guess who’s finally home! Come on, Jaehyun! You can even bring along that sexy roommate of yours so that you can settle your thick sexual tension there!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Doyoung’s the first to greet him, using the same joke he had for years. The room begins to reek of rancid peaches, ugly and horrendous -- an amalgamation of everything that has brought him down. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey! Give him a break, baby! We all know that Jaehyun’s a shy bean. He’d much rather stay friends than risk it all for love!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Taeyong chimes in, fanning the flames his mate had ignited and adding smoke to Jaehyun’s scent. It clogs the living room, enough to choke should another person come close.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“My god, Jae! Just pounce on him already! Get those manicured nails and artistic vision on your body right now!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>It is Sicheng’s words that break him. Not in a dramatic way, but one that has unleashed a monster he never knew he had.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“There you guys go again, making these jokes that have finally convinced my mother that I can’t fucking mate. Which is ironic since I have one and it’s Johnny. Fuck all of you, especially you, Sicheng. You’re the one that put us together in the first place, yet you’re the one who started this joke or whatever this mess looks like now.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun doesn’t wait for a reply, throwing his phone down the table. The clanking sound should have been enough to call for Johnny’s attention, but when he sees no sign of him coming around, Jaehyun huffs a sigh and picks up the photo from the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Upon closer inspection, he realises that the vague shapes he had seen before were of him and Johnny. It was during the spring of their first year together as a couple. Their arms were around each other as they smiled towards the camera, which Jaehyun remembers was perched around a narrow balcony overlooking a river littered with fallen cherry blossoms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile blooms on Jaehyun’s lips, remembering that the second after the flash had gone off, a gust of wind shook the camera and almost sent it drowning down the river. Both of them had scrambled to save it, hands clasped together as they laughed their nerves away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun had been too immersed in the memory that he belatedly notices that there was something written at the bottom of the photograph, small letters in Johnny’s handwriting fitted in the white border to spell out; </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘like the road we took on this day, follow the road that leads to me.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If he thought correctly, the road which Johnny was referring to was the hallway that leads to their bedroom. He doesn’t know exactly what is going on, but it’s better than just wallowing in the anger he has for his friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Jaehyun makes his way, he doesn’t expect to see the once empty walls alive with a sea of photos -- all taken by Johnny, all throughout the years they shared together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sight of them overwhelms him, making him slow his steps so that his eyes can flicker through from one side to another, taking in the vivid colors and the wonderful memories each of them hold.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘When you were craving for ice cream’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>is the first thing that catches his eye, written under a slightly blurred photo of him walking back from the grocery store with an unopened ice cream caught between his lips. It was midnight at the time, and Jaehyun suddenly had a craving for the said dessert that he had literally dragged Johnny out of the house. His alpha may have been rattled by the sudden change of plans, but he was all too willing to seal this moment into memory.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘When you stitched this in my favorite sweater before I left’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>is the next thing that Jaehyun sees, bringing back the insurmountable feeling of longing because the photo was of a close-up of the inside of Johnny’s sweater, where Jaehyun had stitched a handmade tag that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘when you wear this, I’ll always be with you.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a message that Jaehyun wanted Johnny to keep as he went overseas for a project that had gone on for three months. During that time, their days were rid of sleep, trying to catch each other in video calls despite the time difference.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun had thought that would be the trial that had broken them apart. But their love had only grown stronger because of it. Unbreakable even more because distance had made them both see that nothing can ever replace the euphoria they feel when they’re around each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘When we first moved in together’</span>
  </em>
  <span> is another that Jaehyun sees. Amongst the other photos he had seen, this one has the most intimate meaning of them all. Jaehyun has his insecurities, fuelled by his own vulnerability and others’ seldom insensitivities, but the one that has held him together and given him hope was this. This was a symbol that even without the mark or the validation from their loved ones, they were mates.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is enough to fill him with this indescribable urge -- the want to just run into Johnny arms. Jaehyun sets aside looking at the rest of the photos for later and all but bolts towards the room, thinking that maybe this time, he can tell Johnny everything he has been keeping from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he pushes through the door, what he sees is beyond what he had ever expected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room is glowing with mellow light, softening every inch of their room and illuminating the flower petals scattered all around their floor. Their scent envelops him in a soothing embrace, luring him further inside where the scent of warm coffee gently lands on his shoulders as if to welcome him home. Jaehyun breathes it all in, allowing the scents to fill him up to the brim. He’s safe in here -- in their own little world where no one can ever hurt him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the scents lead him to turn slowly to the side where he’s greeted by the image of Johnny standing in front of him. He’s all dressed up in a proper suit and shoes. But nothing could be more like him than the sight of his charming eyes and that smile that never fails to make Jaehyun do the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s all this?” Jaehyun asks, voice low. He fears he might break this little delicate bubble they’re in if he speaks any louder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They say that when wolves mate, they mate for life. It’s simple and beautiful. A truth no one disputed until we’ve come into a world where even our bonds can be broken. People sometimes aren’t meant to be, even if the wolves inside them yearn for their hearts. That doesn’t mean love is rare. It only means that love takes more than just instinct. It’s a choice.” Johnny’s voice carries a solemnity that has Jaehyun worried. He’s only ever been like this a few times, and each one concerned a certain life-changing event, like when they became a couple, when Johnny left for three months, or when they moved in together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun feels his stomach drop as everything begins to make sense. Everything he has seen and heard from Johnny so far all led to the one thing he’s been wanting for so long, and yet, he feels upset. It feels like all of this has occurred in an inopportune moment so that he cannot appreciate the gesture in its entirety.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You chose to let me love you.” Johnny continues as Jaehyun feels tears beginning to prick the corner of his eyes. “I’d just like to ask if you’d let me love you forever?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything begins to slow -- from the way Johnny approaches him until they’re mere inches apart, to when he goes down on one knee, moving a polished hand to retrieve a box and present it to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you marry me, Jaehyun?” Johnny asks, opening the box to a golden band that shines under the light of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite the beauty that surrounds him, Jaehyun bursts into tears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s unfair how their lives’ biggest moments are lined with sadness. The times where he should’ve been overjoyed to witness such things became ones that he’d dreaded to remember because what preceded them were instances that made him question the integrity of their relationship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even in this moment, Jaehyun still wonders through each tear that falls down his face — if he says yes to forever, will Johnny accept him even with the predicament he carries? The way he has gone down a road no one has taken before?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun’s scent grows bitter as he wails, loud enough to break Johnny from his reverie, causing the alpha to be on him in an instant, ring momentarily forgotten and placed haphazardly on the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Baby! Baby, what’s wrong? Hm?” Johnny rushes to console Jaehyun, hands cradling his head and waist, pressing kisses against his temple. “Tell me, what’s gotten you so devastated?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything!” Jaehyun cries out, head burying itself deep in the crook of Johnny’s neck trying to inhale as much of his scent as possible, but his body is seizing with the rattle of tears that stain through the blazer. “I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but I just want some answers!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun feels Johnny release more of his pheromones, and he hurries to breathe it all in, helping his bitter scent become aromatic — deep and rich, like hot americano during the fall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Answers about what, my love?” Fingers thread through his hair, caressing the skin there, and Jaehyun focuses on the soft movements to gain a semblance of stability.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About whether or not you want to mark me for life?!” Jaehyun isn’t that all sated yet, and then sudden admission has them both shocked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do. I do want to mark you for life. I’ve wanted it for so long.” Johnny pulls away just enough to see his face, and Jaehyun can see the panic etched in his features.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why has it taken so long?! One year or two years is fine, but it’s been more than that, and the jokes are getting to me, and I’ve been trying to keep them—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, wait. What do you mean by jokes?” Johnny is momentarily perplexed until realization dawns on him and he’d had to shake his head in response. “You mean the jokes your friends have been doing to us for years? Is that it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun nods, a fresh set of tears streaming down his face. “I-I know it started out in good fun, but they’ve gone too far that even my mother started believing it! I didn’t tell you because I hoped they’d just go away, but they didn’t and I’ve had it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The scent of coffee freezes into cold metal — the scent of Johnny’s anger. Its presence could frighten everyone but him, for Jaehyun knows that it’s directed at the people they consider friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know it had affected you this much, Jaehyun. That was neglectful of me.” Johnny moves to run his hands across Jaehyun’s arms before looking into their cabinets. “Let me deal with it. Come on out, guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door of their closet slowly slides open, and the scents of his friends come out scared and nervous, matching the look of their faces as they reveal themselves to Jaehyun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’re you guys doing here?” Jaehyun’s eyes are wide in disbelief. Doyoung, Taeyong and Sicheng have their heads bowed, guilt clear in their stances, and in some way, Jaehyun finds relief in that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were part of the surprise,” Taeyong begins to explain for them, the scent of wilting roses emanating from him. “Johnny wanted us to lead you to the room as soon as we heard you come in.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We just thought that maybe the roommate joke would work since we’ve been using it ever since…” Doyoung helps his mate explain, the scent of wet soil complimenting the air of regret coming from them. “We now see that it’s gone too far.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re sorry,” Sicheng apologizes to them both, burnt oranges sealing it all off like a top note to an abysmal perfume. “The joke came from a good place, despite how it looked. We just wanted to make light of the hate you both got when you and Johnny became a couple. We wanted to turn it into something that’s less than ugly to look back on one day. But now...we see it. We see how it didn't work out the way we intended, and we're so sorry, Jaehyun. We never meant to hurt you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It just sucks, you know? How my own friends didn’t see it first and—and—“ Jaehyun sniffles, trying to control his tears in order to make way for his thoughts. “Johnny is stronger than I am, more sure of himself than I am, and I tried to hold myself together. My mother thinks I can’t mate, and it affected me so much that I didn’t think I was capable of having a child, and then I just had to get pregnant before telling Johnny about it—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pregnant?” Johnny all but yells, the atmosphere dropping until nothing is left but the sound of labored breathing. “You’re pregnant and you didn’t tell me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was I supposed to tell you when I distinctly remember you not wanting to have kids when I first brought it up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was like Johnny was struck by lightning, appalled at his own memory coming back to him. Moments pass until he turns to his equally stunned friends and asks to give them some privacy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sit down with me please, baby.” Johnny sits at the edge of the bed, softly patting the space next to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun follows, having given up on wiping the tear tracks off of his face and instead wrings his hands together to release some of the tension he feels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me clear things up. You didn’t tell me that you were getting hurt over the jokes?” Johnny asks first, and Jaehyun nods immediately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You also didn’t tell me that your mother’s invalidated our relationship?” Johnny offers his hand, and Jaehyun takes it without question. “Even the neighbor too?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun nods again, face morphing into a frown upon remembering the words the man next door had said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking neighbor,” Johnny mutters, clasping his hand tight as if scared that Jaehyun will disappear. “And you didn’t tell me you were pregnant?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you said I shouldn’t rush. And that’s code for you’re not ready.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling…” Johnny looks at him, quite desperate, quite dejected and the scent of metal melts into stale coffee grounds. “My lovely omega, that’s not code for I’m not ready. It’s code for</span>
  <em>
    <span> let’s not rush</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I do want pups, </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You carrying one right now is a dream come true. I just wish I could’ve been with you when you found out—I just wish I’d seen it sooner. I wish I could’ve paid closer attention.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I am expert at hiding stuff.” Jaehyun doesn’t know why but he felt like a saying this would help lighten the mood, something he deserves after days of being in a hellhole of emotions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can see that.” Johnny chuckles, leaning close to plant a soft, trembling kiss on his cheek. “But you didn’t have to go through it alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was afraid of how you’d react.” Jaehyun can feel fresh tears form in the corners of his eyes, and instantly, his pup tries to console him through his own scent. Johnny picks it up and his other hand immediately goes to place itself atop Jaehyun’s stomach, eyes glistening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry if my words pushed you away. I wanted to tell you that I never wanted you to make decisions because you were pressured by other people. I wanted you to make them because you want to.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only when he looks into Johnny’s eyes does Jaehyun realize that this was all just a series of unfortunate events that built up over the years and spilled over this one, fine day. He’d been so confident, stubborn even, to have taken it all by himself, never minding if the others were willing to bear the load with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Most of all, Johnny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do want us to have children, Johnny. But I guess I got discouraged from telling you about it again.” Jaehyun shakes his head, seeing how ridiculous this now looks. “Even the other things, too. I thought it’s easier that way with less people involved. Guess I was wrong.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Johnny’s gentle in the way he takes him by the waist and leads Jaehyun to rest against his chest, the heat of his body melting everything away and leaving him with a clean slate. “It happens to most of us. You just need a reminder that we’re here for you. Always.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the silence of the night, basking under the glow of the light and wrapped in the love of his mate, Jaehyun believes it. For certain this time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun takes the box from where it’s placed on the bed, looking at the ring that marks their future with all the hope in his eyes. The scent of a garden ushers them into a new beginning, one that’s born from trials and blooms with the calming scent of peace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you ask me again?” Jaehyun asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny takes the ring in one hand and Jaehyun’s hand on the other, kissing him on the lips before he says, “Will you marry me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun’s smiles wide for the first time, nodding as he answers a resounding, “Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Loud cheers are heard from outside the bedroom door, and Jaehyun calls his friends back in to engulf them all in a big hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys better make it up to me!” The tears in Jaehyun’s eyes are that of joy, elated at the thought of leaving the past behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course! We’ll start with the baby!” Sicheng moves to lower himself next to Jaehyun’s stomach, pressing his nose against it to get a whiff of the sun. “This pup’s gonna follow in my footsteps!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, mine! I can already feel the artistic energy from here!” Taeyong begs to differ, crouching down to engage Sicheng in a playful fight on who gets to cuddle his belly as Jaehyun laughs heartily at the sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The pup’s gonna take after me as I’m the dad.” Johnny rises, taking a camera from one of their drawers before standing next to Jaehyun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doyoung,” Johnny offers the camera to him, “will you do the honors?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gladly.” Doyoung takes the camera, and like many times before, fits it in his eye to prepare for the shot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Move, you two!” he calls out to Taeyong and Sicheng in particular and waits until they’ve gotten out of the way before he begins the countdown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the count of three, Johnny pulls Jaehyun close. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the count of two, Jaehyun takes Johnny’s face, showing the ring to the camera. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the count of one, Jaehyun mutters something to Johnny before sealing it with a kiss. The flash that follows seals the memory in another photo for them to keep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they all move to the dining area to celebrate, Jaehyun and Johnny stop at one part of the hallway to put up the photo they just took.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the bottom reads Jaehyun’s words to Johnny when they kissed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Together in everything. Forever.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And we're here!! What do you think?</p><p>Please don't hesitate to tell me everything!! You can do so in the comments below!!</p><p>Again, thank you so so much for reading and supporting the JohnJaeFest!!</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://curiouscat.me/wakeupmoonchild">cc</a><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/wakeupmoonchild">twt</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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